Last week, the UK government released
Financing Global Forests: the Eliasch Review on forests and climate change. The report builds on the
2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, by focussing on the potential for avoided deforestation to mitigate climate change. The review comprehensively documents the case for avoided deforestation, and concludes that
Urgent action to tackle the loss of global forests needs to be a central part of any future international deal on climate change. A deal that provides international forest financing could not only reduce carbon emissions significantly, but also benefit developing countries, support poverty reduction and help preserve biodiversity and other forest services.
A primary focus of the review is the degree of finance required and the financial mechanisms which could potentially lead to reduced emissions from deforestation, estimating that the finance required to halve emissions from the forest sector to 2030 could be around $17-33 billion per year.
The review intersects with ASB research in a few areas, including opportunity cost analysis, agroforestry, and an overall focus on achieving improved livelihoods.
